Keeping Secrets
by ProblemsAU
Summary: When Miku finds out that Luka has a boyfriend, she's hurt that her best friend would keep such a secret from her. But Miku may be keeping a few secrets of her own ... Part of the Problems Universe.


"Miku, do you like big sis's new boyfriend?"

Seven words. Who knew that seven words, spoken in such a sweet, innocent voice, could have such an effect? Within moments, butterflies were fluttering razor-sharp wings against the walls of her stomach, which had suddenly twisted itself into pretzel knots. This went beyond hunger pangs, which the tealette was no stranger to. This was a whole new kind of agony.

However, Miku was quite used to hiding her emotions. So, instead of immediately rushing to the kitchen to get confirmation from her friend, or calling out in undignified surprise, she turned to the young girl who had spoken with a kind smile on her face. "What do you mean, Toeto? Luka doesn't have a boyfriend."

The little pink-haired girl looked to her lap, her ever-nervous hands twisting at the hem of her skirt. "Y-Yeah, she does. I m-mean, he comes over a lot … And they look like boyfriend and girlfriend …"

Miku attempted to swallow, but her mouth was dry. Her eyes darted around the living room, looking for the curtain of pink hair that would signal Luka's return, but the woman's faint humming could still be heard from the next room over. For the moment, Miku was free to question the girl's little sister to her heart's content "What sort of things do they do?"

"They laugh a lot," Toeto replied, "And yesterday I walked into the living room past bedtime to ask for a glass of water and they were slow dancing real close. I thought they were gonna kiss." A tomato-red blush spread across her 7-year-old cheeks, presumably at the thought of such an indecency.

"Oh." Miku fidgeted with her too-loose sleeves, a million words roadblocked behind pursed lips. What could she say? That she didn't believe her? That she didn't want to believe her would be closer to the truth. Luka with a man? The thought was foreign, alien. If she had a boyfriend, surely she would have mentioned him. Luka would never keep anything from her!

As if summoned by her thoughts, Luka made her way back into the room.

"Dinner's almost done! You were going to stay, weren't you, Miku?" Her voice was the same as it always was, but Miku found herself hunting for something underneath her casual tone.

The other girl's gaze as she waited for a response seemed electric out of the corner of Miku's eye, but she couldn't bring herself to look at her. If she stared into those eyes, who knew was sorts of secrets she would find swimming in those two blue oceans?

"U-Uh, actually, I'm going to go home." Miku leapt to her feet, her lips twitching up in a porcelain smile. "I'll see you later, okay?"

"But, Miku, you just got here." Luka's voice took on the maternal note she used when Toeto began fussing, or when someone twisted an ankle during rehearsal.

Miku stumbled to the door clumsily, a trapped animal in search of an exit. A shaking hand flung the door open, and she leaned against the doorframe, staring at the freedom that seemed so close. "Yeah, but, you see, I'm, uh, not really all that hungry." A faint scent of the cherry blossom perfume Luka wore was the only warning Miku received before long, slim fingers wrapped themselves around her bony wrist.

"Miku," Luka asked slowly, her breath moving the stray hairs on the back of Miku's neck, "Is something wrong?"

Miku took a deep breath. She had run onstage in front of a million screaming fans with a smile on her face. She had braved critics and proved negative reviews wrong. She could keep on smiling even when her stomach did somersaults, trying to digest itself. She could handle a secret being kept by a friend. Hell, she could keep a few secrets of her own. Turning around, she looked Luka right in the eye, prepared to say that, of course, she was fine, she just wanted to go home, she'd see her later …

Instead, she found herself lost in the curl of her eyelashes and worried purse of her pink lips.

"A-Ah …" Miku's voice evaporated like water, turned into the air that didn't fill enough space between the two. This only caused Luka to become more worried, her perfectly maintained eyebrows coming together in a V.

"What's wrong?" Her hand finally released Miku's wrist, only to go up to her forehead. "Are you sick?"

That cool hand that caressed her brow … What else had it caressed? _Who_ else?

"N-No!" Miku swatted the hand away, stumbling backwards onto the porch. "I mean … Look, I'm fine, alright? I just, uh, need some rest."

Luka's expression of concern only deepened. "Well, you shouldn't be driving. I'll -"

"Stay here with Toeto," Miku half-finished, half-demanded. "I'll be fine."

Before Luka could do anything else, Miku rushed to her car, slamming the door behind her and driving away too fast.

Her knuckles were white against the wheel, but she hardly even noticed the road in front of her. Luka had a boyfriend? It was impossible. Well, not impossible, of course, Luka could have any man she wanted, with her perfect figure and beautiful features. But she never seemed to want one. "I'm too busy," she always said, "With Toeto, with Crypton … With everything, really."

Well, apparently she wasn't busy for this guy, but she was too busy to tell her own best friend about it.

Miku thought back on their relationship. From the moment Luka joined Crypton, the two had hit it off. Luka understood her in a way that no one else did. Miku found herself coming over to the place she shared with her little sister more and more, until the little house on Toraboruta Avenue felt like a second home to her. The two told each other everything. So, why not this?

Who was this man, that Luka felt the need to keep him a secret? Was he a criminal? Was he hurting her? If anyone hurt Luka, she didn't know what she'd do.

Or maybe it was much simpler than that. Maybe Luka didn't care about her as much as she thought she did.

"Well, fine," sniffled Miku, pulling up her driveway, "If Luka doesn't want to tell me, then I don't care."

She told herself that as she walked through her front door, Melody greeting her with a meow as she wound around her legs.

She said it again as she took a bottle of water out of her fridge, ignoring the leftover dinner that her mother had left her before going out for the night.

She said it as she read the same lyric for the fiftieth time, her aching eyes refusing to transmit the words to her brain.

She said it in the shower as her shampoo ran into her eyes until she couldn't tell if the water running down her face was caused by the shower, the shampoo, or the thoughts that ran laps around her skull.

But, even when the words passed her lips as she slipped into bed, she couldn't make herself believe it.

Miku cared. Miku cared_ plenty_.

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**Hi, everyone! Jilly, here. This is the first fic we're uploading to this universe, and I hope you enjoy it! Review and let us know what you think.**

**Cover Credit: piapro . jp / t / b-F _**


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